UNITED STATES—This week our focus turns to another green vegetable, one that is quite versatile I must say.Any guesses to who are green little friend may be?Its long, its green, its crunchy, it’s the cucumber!

Cucumbers are great because they’re mild in taste.While it’s a veggie, it could almost pass as a fruit.hey’re great with the skin on, or with the skin off.In my personal opinion, I prefer the skin off because of the opportunity to use the veggie in multiple dishes.Cucumbers are also used on the skin particularly for the eyes, for those of us that have baggy eyes. You’ll see them quite often at spas.

Crisp Delicious Cucumbers (Credit:Stephen Ausmus, USDA ARS)

Of course most of us are familiar with the cucumber as it typically appears in most salads, at least for those of us that make salads from scratch.The great thing about the cucumber is that there are different varieties.You have the English cucumber, the seedless cucumber, mini cucumbers as well as pickle cucumbers.

Trust me the pickle cucumber is the best.It tastes just like a pickle, without all the vinegar and sodium not good for your body. Many choose to pickle their cucumber which adds a unique flavor to the veggie. You can choose to make it sour (dill pickles) or sweet (gherkin pickles), but be careful when pickling the veggie because it decreases vital nutrients like Vitamin C.Most people prepare the vegetable by cutting it into round circles.There are those who prefer to de-seed the veggie to rid themselves of the pesky seeds that they despise.

One of the great assets to indulge in this veggie is that it’s a great snack for on the go.The cucumber does not carry many calories so you can indulge in it quite often.In addition, it contains a high content of water, as well as calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium.

Side note: indulge in eating all varieties of cucumbers as you’ll notice they have different tastes.The cucumber is also a great asset in a pasta salad as well as those green smoothies so many of us indulge in!